Kaspersky Lab: sensitive corporate information is increasingly at risk from mobile malware

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Kaspersky Lab has urged smartphone users to be more vigilant against the growing menace of mobile malware, especially if it threatens to compromise sensitive corporate information.

In January 2011, Kaspersky Lab recorded 154 different mobile malware families with 1,046 strains, two per cent of which are already targeting Android. "As a result of mobile workers, sensitive company information is also becoming more mobile, providing a lucrative point of attack for cyber criminals" says Marco Preuss, Senior Virus Analyst at Kaspersky Lab. "This is why the use of mobile devices must be subject to strict regulations such as data encryption, particularly in the corporate world."

Kaspersky Lab has also asked users to rethink their attitude to the IT security threats traditionally associated with Mac computers. Numerous Windows threats have already been adapted to the Mac OS. For example, the Windows Trojan horse PremierOpinion that first appeared in 2008 surfaced again in June 2010 – this time for Mac. This particular Trojan is bundled with applications and screensavers and runs at root with full system access. PremierOpinion is designed to steal data from local and network-based file systems. However, it is worrying that backdoor viruses such as HellRaiser or botnets such as Trojan.i.Services are also no longer a rarity on the Mac.